3 easy cuts that can save Commanders $15 million in cap space

2. Matt Ioannidis

We normally aren’t in the business of sacrificing defensive line depth in the name of saving cap space, but entertain us for a minute.

For starters, Matt Ioannidis, who has experience both along the edge and interior, played just 59% of the snaps during a season that saw Chase Young and Montez Sweat miss significant time due to knee and jaw injuries, respectively.

We know he’s a defensive tackle by trade and he’s certainly outperformed his billing as a former fifth-round pick, but let’s not pretend like the Commanders would be losing a vital part of their defense if they were to cut him.

At this stage of the offseason, all we can do is work under the assumption that the DL rotation will return as is in 2022. As of this writing, Ioannidis’ $8.38 million cap hit for next season ranks 11th on the roster.

That might not seem like a big deal, but it’s higher than guys like Logan Thomas, Sweat, Terry McLaurin, Cole Holcomb and Wes Schweitzer. You can make the case that each of those players are more important than Ioannidis.

If the Commanders cut the 28-year-old lineman, they would free up a sizable $6.88 million in cap space. That’s second on the team behind Ereck Flowers, who will likely return as the starting LG with Brandon Scherff hitting free agency.

That sum could be used to drag a signing across the finish line or re-sign someone like Tim Settle, who might have a higher ceiling than Ioannidis. We’re not campaigning for the Temple product’s release, obviously, but we are willing to acknowledge that cutting him could be in the team’s best interest.